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Alexander Shnyrko, Professor of the Oriental Institute–School of Regional and International Studies, Eastern Federal University (FEFU OI–SRIS), was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun. A special awarding ceremony took place at the Consulate General of Japan in Vladivostok. The outstanding scholar was awarded for his special contribution to Japanese studies and the development of bilateral ties between countries.

Kasai Tatsuhiko, the Consul General of Japan in Vladivostok, handed the Order of the Rising Sun with Golden Rays and Certificate of Honor signed by the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe to the professor in the presence of the FEFU representatives and the city mayor Vitaly Verkeenko. The meeting was also remarkable due to it was attended by all three residents of the Primorye capital, who were awarded by the Government of Japan at various times: Victor Gorchakov, politician, academic, FEFU Alumni Association President (awarded in 2011); Zoya Morgun, Associate Professor at the FEFU Japanese Studies Department (awarded in 2015), and Alexander Shnyrko.

"Alexander A. Shnyrko is one of the leading Russian scholars in the field of Japanese linguistics. Working at the university, he brought up several generations of professional scholars of Japanese Studies. I've known him since my student years, and now it's a great honor for me to be a colleague of this outstanding orientalist," said Eugene Pustovoyt, OI–SRIS Deputy Director for Development, Head of the FEFU Department of Japanese Studies.

The Order of the Rising Sun is considered the second most important Japanese award after the Order of the Chrysanthemum, which is given only to members of the imperial family and heads of state. The FEFU professor was awarded among five Russian scholars and public figures at the end of 2017. In the history of the award, it was conferred to about 60 Russians, including the Director of the Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky, the ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, and the writer Boris Akunin.

Alexander A. Shnirko is a graduate of the Department of Oriental Studies of Far Eastern State University (FESU) in 1971. In 1979 he defended his PhD thesis at the Department of Japanese Philology, Institute of Asian and African Countries, Lomonosov Moscow State University. In 1991 he became the Head of the Department of Japanese Philology of the FESU Oriental Institute. For several years he worked in Japan. In 1998 he was appointed the Dean of the Department of Japanese Studies at the FESU Oriental Institute. In 2011-2017, he was the Head of the FEFU Department of Japanese Studies. He is the Russia Honored Figure of Higher Professional Education, Honored Figure of Higher School, and the holder of the Certificate of Honor of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan.